Unit 1012 Cover Photo

Thursday, October 12, 2017

HOLLY BOBO (OCTOBER 12, 1990 TO APRIL 13, 2011)

Holly Bobo

Holly Lynn Bobo (October 12, 1990 – c. April
13, 2011) was an American woman who disappeared on April 13, 2011, from her
family home in Darden, Tennessee. She was last seen alive by her
brother, Clint, shortly before 8 a.m., walking into the woods outside her home
with a man wearing camouflage. In September 2014, partial remains were found
in northern Decatur County, Tennessee, and her death
was ruled a homicide
via a gunshot to the back of the head.

Six men have been arrested for varying
degrees of involvement in the crime. However, only three of the six men
arrested have been prosecuted. Most of the arrests were made on the basis of a confession
by a mentally disabled man named John Dylan Adams, who told police he saw his
brother, Zach, and another friend, Jason Autry, with Holly at his brother's
home after her kidnapping. It is unknown what led police to question Dylan
about Bobo's disappearance. Three men, Dylan Adams, Zach Adams, and Jason Autry
were charged with especially aggravated kidnapping, first-degree murder and
rape. Of the other three men arrested, charges against two men were dropped,
and one committed suicide without any charges being filed against him.

The case has been met with several
setbacks such as the death of a suspect, multiple changes to the prosecutorial
team, and disputes with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
(TBI). The prosecution has been heavily criticized for their refusal to produce
evidence against the defendants, missing multiple discovery deadlines, and for
making frequent changes to the charges against the defendants with little
explanation. The TBI even briefly withdrew its services to the entire district
after the prosecutor accused them of compromising the case by proceeding
"so slowly that the culprits were always one step ahead and that TBI...
was leaking information and possibly covering up evidence". Defense
attorneys for the men complained that they still had yet to receive a bill of
particulars detailing the case against their clients and the results of
forensic testing done on evidence from the case over a year after the arrests
were made and that the prosecution had missed multiple discovery deadlines,
leading attorneys for the defendants to file motions to dismiss charges on the
grounds of "silence or stonewalling". The arrests took place in early
2014, but it wasn't until July 2015 that it was announced that the defendants
finally received access to all the evidence against them.

On September 22, 2017, a jury found Zach
Adams guilty on all charges, including first-degree murder. He was sentenced to
life in prison plus 50 years on September 23, 2017.